New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS): The Supreme Court Collegium on Friday recommended the name of Karnataka High Court's Chief Justice Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale for elevation as a judge of the top court.

"While recommending his name, the Collegium has taken into consideration the fact that among the high court judges, he is the senior-most judge belonging to a Scheduled Caste and the only Chief Justice belonging to a Scheduled Caste among the Chief Justices of high courts across the country," said a statement released by SC Collegium.

Justice Varale was appointed as a Judge of the Bombay High Court in July 2008 and was elevated as Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court on October 15, 2022.

Before his elevation to the bench, he practised at the bar for over 23 years in civil, criminal, labour, and administrative law matters in the district and sessions court and in constitutional matters at the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court.

"Mr Justice Prasanna B Varale has acquired considerable experience as a Judge of the High Court of Bombay and as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka for more than a year. The judgments authored by him deal with a variety of issues in every field of law. He is a competent judge with unimpeachable conduct and integrity and has throughout maintained a high standard of professional ethics," the SC Collegium said.

It noted that Justice Varale stands at serial number 6 in the combined all India seniority of high court judges and is the senior-mostjJudge in terms of the seniority of judges of the Bombay High Court.

"After carefully evaluating the merit, integrity and competence of eligible Chief Justices and senior puisne Judges of the High Courts and also accommodating a plurality of considerations, the Collegium finds Mr Justice Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale to be a deserving and suitable candidate in all respects for being appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India,” said the statement uploaded on the website of the apex court.

It also said: "The Supreme Court of India has operated almost throughout last year with full strength of thirty-four Judges and, therefore, could achieve the distinction of recording an unprecedented rate of disposal by disposing of 52,191 cases in the calendar year 2023."

It added that the Collegium decided to fill up the sole existing vacancy by recommending a name as it has become necessary to ensure that the Supreme Court has full working judge-strength at all times.

A vacancy arose in the apex court on retirement of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul on December 25.